AGRI Biz

Written By: Mark ôThe Hard Hitterö Ritter To the surprise of many, the start of the Winter Classic, much like the crowd, has been very quiet thus far. While chants of ôletÆs go, Flyersö resonated throughout Fenway, I was shocked the Bruins faithful were not more boisterous themselves. The stands were about even: half Bruins fans, half Flyers fans. And then came the fight. Boston Bruins ...

Written By: Mark ôThe Hard Hitterö Ritter The streets are electric outside Fenway Park this morning. The noise is familiar, but the jerseys being worn by the boisterous crowd are not. Boston Bruin and Philadelphia Flyers fans are playfully taunting each other, the mood is generally light hearted and, to their credit, the fans are having fun with the Winter Classic. For the lucky few that ...

Today, we started things off by taking a tour of Fenway Park. One of the highlights was being allowed to go inside the Green Monster wall in the outfield, where, like the hieroglyphics left behind by the ancient Egyptians, former Boston Red Sox players from all eraÆs had signed their names to the concrete. While impossible to find with our fast paced schedule, I was assured by a Fenway ...

Written By: Mark ôThe Hard Hitterö Ritter The Winter Classic is an important part of the NHL schedule, especially when your team is a participant. For the members of the Boston Bruins, the Winter Classic is a unique experience, one that transcends all other regular season games and, as one player pointed out, with the amount of media coverage, transcends some playoff matches. The Bruins are ...

For many NHL fans, skating on the ice at historic Fenway Park would be a dream come true. Funny, judging by all the smiles radiating off the Boston Bruins players today, youÆd think they were fulfilling a dream as well.Led by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, whose shovel was far too short, numerous Bruins players cleaned the ice, with a smile on their faces to boot.Media members were privileged to watch ...

Written By: Mark ôThe Hard Hitterö RitterYesterday, I had the opportunity to sit in on a conversation with John Collins, Chief Operating Officer of the NHL. The topic du jour? The Winter Classic, where it is, where itÆs going, and the process that NHL clubs endure to participate in the event.When it comes to being considered as a host for the Winter Classic, every NHL team has the green light ...

Written By: Mark ôThe Hard Hitterö RitterThe day began with a 4:00 a.m. wake up call; or in my case, a not so gentle nudge from my fiance.Given the current security restrictions at TorontoÆs Pearson International Airport it was important for us to get there early so we could be frisked by the good peopleáof the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Who, to their credit, were both thorough and gentle, all ...

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter With just under 72 hours before the first drop of the puck at the Bridgestone Winter Classic the butterflies are starting to sink in. A little over a month ago, I was contacted by Aron Glatzer from the Bleacher Report. His email stated that NHL.com was happy with the material I was submitting and, given the fact that I was ...

Written By: Mark ôThe Hard Hitterö Ritter About three weeks ago, various reports surfaced suggesting that the Montreal Canadiens were offering goaltender Jaroslav Halak to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was never confirmed which players the Canadiens were asking for in return, but the asking price was thought to start with Jeff Carter and perhaps a draft pick. On the surface, sending Carter to the Canadiens for Halak ...

Written By: Mark "The Hard Hitter" Ritter For the most part, December has been a month the Philadelphia Flyers would like to forget. Through the first 10 games of December the Flyers ôearnedö themselves a record of 2-7-1 and, in the process, at one point, dropped all the way down to 29th overall in the NHL standings. Over that gruesome 10-game period the Flyers had been all but abandoned by their ...